Breaking The Bits - Points Of Interest (glue70)

It's not his current logo, but I still love it.

I owe a lot to glue70 when it comes to my current taste in music. I'll admit that when I went to a site called Breakbit, I merely did it because I was interested in mrSimon, who previously had made some videos that I had grown very accustom to. The other artists to me didn't really garner my attention since they all seemed sort of the same. Then, I come across a video on Breakbit's channel called Jaffa Cake Jam. Then and there, I had witnessed first-hand the wonders of glue70. Not only did I enjoy that song, but I proceeded to download all of his EPs and albums. That in turn introduced me to Glenn Miller (All of Ode To Glenn and Jaffa Cake Jam from Glue Sniffer) and Mr. Oizo (Inflated from Photo Real as well as this), who are both great artists. There's a lot I've learned from music from him and he really has that element to him that I've found in so many Breakbit artists. Along with Vaervaf, they are the two only artists ever that I have each and every of their albums and I absolutely enjoy a great deal of their work. I would have put glue70 on the trifecta of artists who have evolved from sample-heavy tunes to more original and flowing melodies like I did with Orangy and Vaervaf, but glue70 had a less glitchy and violent method. But without him, I wouldn't have taken more of those risks to try the other artists and enjoy their experimentation.

Hey, if putting a triangular prism on their album worked for Pink Floyd, it should work thricefold here.

A while back I mentioned that Worldwide Digitizing was my number 1 pick as the best album of 2012, at least on the Breakbit circuit. A lot of artists evolved but glue70 really took it to another level by straying away from his style on altering a song in a new rhythmic manner and instead used samples a means to spice up a newly created song. Hell, at some moments it was hard to tell if there was some sample used or if he simply went with scratch. It really was a magnificent work. Eagerly awaiting his newest work, I stumbled across a tune of amazing proportions on his Soundcloud. There and then I knew that something new was in the works. I was stoked and soon I found a video that showed that something new was in the works. And then the retro-looking promo came up and I dropped everything to get Points Of Interest. Unfortunately for me, Bandcamp was being the biggest bastard in the world. It had been for a while, right when I wanted to catch up on what I missed with DR777 (and a few others), so I was relatively screwed until a friend of mine decided to help me out with the issue. Sadly I only managed to get one of the albums off the list of the many that I wanted, but you can probably infer which one I got. Soon I was with the album in my iTunes and I was listening to each tune to take in what I had heard.

Generally, the songs have a throwback to older styles of electronic music, but it gets melded with a newer mentality. That is to say that glue70 has modernized the past. Oddly, he's done that quite a bit, most notably in Ode To Glenn. The difference is that this is a more aesthetic choice rather than it being a sample choice. The beats are more reminiscent of downtempo yet there's clear amount of experimentation with the movement of the songs and the sampling that is inserted. Simply put, think of it like if a robot went back in time and tried to emulate the music of the past. It gets the concepts, but it also puts its own modern spin. The promo is very fitting for the album as well as it does get you into that realm where everything sounds like it's coming out of a bizarre video tape that only records [adult swim bumps]. Everything sounds very relaxed and  surreal enough to make you think you're sitting there waiting for a new episode of Squidbillies.

The album starts off with Convey Your Thoughts, and everything seems all groovy and bouncy. Then it cuts to a voice (which I'm not sure is actually glue70) that is constantly distorted and hopes that you enjoy it. It's a pleasant introduction to the album, although it's a tad on the short side and can't really be shared so much with others, despite it's fantastic beat. Then we get to Escape which pretty much does that. The music transports you to a more mellow and mysterious funk that pretty much does what Convey Your Thoughts would have done it if was more instrumental. It gets things moving but sadly it fades in too soon. Now, that's not too problematic because it at least feels more complete and fleshed out, but it couldn't hurt if it was longer. Plastic Way Of Life then comes along and this is where you really feel the "[as] bumps video tape music" bit that I was talking about come by. Well, aside from it being a promotional song that had that style in it, there's the fade in and out of the samples that come through along with the vinyl crackle throughout the tune. The song hits certain points properly and it flows wonderfully because of such movement. It's typical for electronic songs to do that, but glue70 pulls it off in quite an interesting way. Then we have Casin, which is when we really get a full and rich tune to bop your body too. Everything that needed to be done from the fade in to the insertions of the voice coming to and fro were placed where they needed to be and in turn make it great. There it doesn't feel like it needs to be longer because it feels like everything that needed to take place took place.

Don't worry, this is relevant...but not in an insulting way.

Now we come to Highway Broken, which is quite honestly the most brilliant song I have ever heard glue70 make. It's like putting a Mentos into Diet Coke, it starts to bubble up and soon a blast of pure, sweet energy fires out. I can just feel the love, the passion and the sheer wonder that is exerted from each note. It is as precise as Casin and it creates such a great atmosphere of heavenly magic that would make me sound more like a fanboy than I already do. I do love this song, it was one of the primary reasons I wanted to get the song. Domestic Silence is next and while it can be jarring to go from one style to another so abruptly, but that doesn't mean it's not a good tune. It has a more idiosyncratic melody and movement, and it does a weird transition halfway through and it probably is one of those songs that depending on who you are, you will either love, hate or be indifferent to. Afterwards comes These Street Walkers which has a peculiar intro and choice of sample, but it moves much like a simple electronic song does. It eventually starts to get more energetic and then ends off in one of the coolest ways I've heard. Oh...wait...well, it almost did, but it still worked. We proceed with Car Freshener which I would say is the most experimental of the bunch. Now this one is another one that could either make it or break it for you, but I think one should appreciate it for doing something more unique and indescribable. I think in that respect it should at least get credit for trying something more alien, even if it isn't absolutely astonishing.

Otherside Avenue swooshes right in and has another message telling us to enjoy the song. Kind of odd, but in a way it's fitting. Sort of. I'll admit, I don't quite like the song that much, at least not in respect with all the other songs, but it still has a nice pace and movement to it. Quiet Mary Talking, on the other hand, I really dig with it's experimentation and movement. Even though I've said before in my selections that some of glue70's tunes may stray away others due to its style, I definitely think that this one really captures not only the proper elements to something different but can appeal to a more general listener. It should at least be a little more "easy" to listen to. Fraser Can't Play  goes back into the problems of some of the previous selections of being too short and maybe throwing some of the listeners off, though I don't think there really could be anything else you could do to make the length better. At least to me. By no means is it perfect with the length it has, but trying to add anything else to it or making it longer wouldn't work well with the flow. Dirt Degree changes that slightly as it serves as a middle ground for glue70's style to flourish whilst also trying to to bring things back to a more "mainstream" mood. The flow works and it grounds things back so that you can get back into the album.

With Step Into The Sunshine, it takes the album to a more hip-hop groove and it certainly flows well after Dirt Degree. You get back into it and you enjoy more of the mellow nature that most of the songs offer. Then comes At Kins which once again throws regular listeners off. It has a great movement and a delightfully abstract mood that while it can be great, also confuses the listener. With the right mindset, they should acknowledge that the more experimental bits are part of his style, but at the same time I sympathize with those who'd view the album's feel switching back and forth so much. Safe History does well after At Kins since it just takes the experimental at full value and takes it to a more hip-hop route. It ends shortly but like Fraser Can't Play, if it was any longer it wouldn't work. Finally, we have J'Adore Le Jus D'Orange which j'adore parce que c'est tres catchy. It's very catchy and simply and will get people back into it. It sums up all that the album is supposed to be and it does it so wonderfully.

That's one juicy tune, alright.

Points Of Interest delivered with what I was expecting. It's everything that I was expecting and more. It showed the growth and skill that glue70 exerts with his ever-changing style. It veered off into new territory and it also took some lessons from old. Whilst some of the songs were short and some of the experimentation could fend off newer listeners, there isn't enough abnormalities in the album to truly alienate the common music connoisseur. And with the right mindset and more familiarity to glue70's methods, one could really enjoy the album. The mood may not be consistent, but it's that mish-mash of different feelings that makes the songs by themselves all the better.

TOP 5 SONGS:

1. Highway Broken
2. Casin
3. J'Adore Le Jus D'Orange
4. Plastic Way Of Life
5. Quiet Mary Talking

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